Marie-Thérèse Chappaz 'Grain Cinq' 2024

Since inheriting a garden-sized plot of Pinot Noir in the mid-1980s, “Queen of the Valais” Marie-Thérèse Chappaz has built one of Valais' most compelling domaines. A biodynamic champion, Marie-Thérèse now farms 11ha of vines around a natural granite amphitheatre. Many of these sites are accessible only on foot or by cable car.

From 25 grape varieties she makes at least 20 different cuvées, vinified as naturally as possible. For whites, these include genre-defining Fendants (Chasselas), gourmand takes on Ermitage (Marsanne), and an array of Arvines, including the unctuously sweet 'Grain Noble', which is often compared with top Sauternes. She also crafts fragrant and spicy Pinot Noirs, tangy Gamays, and alpine-fresh Syrahs.

Marie-Thérèse fully converted her estate to biodynamics in 2003. Her vines sit above the villages of Fully, Saillon, Chamoson and Charrat, and many of these sites require laborious and costly vineyard work to maintain.

As the domaine's annual production is typically purchased before bottling by a thirsty domestic market, few outsiders ever see, let alone drink, Chappaz's wines. And with Marie-Thérèse recently becoming the first Swiss winemaker to achieve a 100-point score, these bottles will only become rarer.